TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Appearances by Chief of the General Staff Admiral Mei Chia-shu (梅家樹) at the Legislative Yuan will remain rare in the future, Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) confirmed Wednesday (June 26).

Koo and Mei presented a report and faced questioning by lawmakers at the Foreign and National Defense Committee Wednesday about the July 22-26 Han Kuang 40 military exercises. It was the first time since 1999 that a chief of the general staff attended a legislative session, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) reported.

Koo emphasized that he had not asked Mei to the meeting, but rather he had been invited by the committee conveners to speak. Mei had the right to remain silent when confidential information came up during questioning, Koo said.

The chief of the general staff attending legislative meetings would not become a regular event, the minister added. Mei told reporters that if his appearance helped to improve public and media understanding of the military, then he supported facing lawmakers.

In his report about Han Kuang 40, he said the focus would be on decentralized warfare, with units learning how to respond to attacks on their own, without a script to follow. In contrast to previous editions, next month’s drills would not include soldiers playing the role of the enemy “red troops,” while rehearsals had also been scrapped, per CNA.

The program does not include landing drills by Marines and parachute jumps by the Army special forces, as they will take place at another time, Mei said. He named early July for the landings and the period after the end of Han Kuang 40 for the parachute drills.